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''The Disappointment, or The Force of Credulity'' is a ballad opera composed by Samuel Adler in two acts with a prologue and epilogue, to a text by an unknown author writing under the pseudonym "Andrew Barton".〔Kirk 30〕 William Peterson, in 1766, claimed that the opera was written by a "son of Philadelphia College," leading to speculation that the author may have been Francis Hopkinson or Jacob Duché.〔Kirk, 30〕 In his book on American drama, Walter Meserve claims that the author was named Thomas Forrest.〔Meserve, Walter J. ''An Outline History of American Drama,'' New York: Feedback/Prospero, 1994.〕 Regarded as one of the first American operas, it was to have been performed on April 20, 1762 in Philadelphia but was cancelled at the last moment. Samuel Adler reconstructed the score for a performance on October 29, 1976 at the Library of Congress in Washington, as part of the Bicentennial celebrations of the United States of America. A critic published a lukewarm review of the performance at the time.〔The Disappointment: Or, The Force of Credulity: 'Recent Researches in American Music', Vols. III & IV, Review author(): Roger Fiske Music & Letters © 1978 Oxford University Press〕 ==Selected liner notes from first recording, 1976== TV-S 34650 The Disappointment (1767) America’s First Ballad Opera by Andrew Barton Musical Setting by Samuel Adler Research by Jerald Graue and Judith Layng Produced by Donald Hunsberger Directed by Edward Berkeley Musical Direction by Robert Spillman Original Cast of the Library of Congress Eastman School of Music Production In April 1767, the Philadelphia public was primed for a theatrical event of uncommon interest. The most illustrious acting company in the colonies, David Douglass’ American Company, was preparing Andrew Barton’s ballad opera, The Disappointment, or, the Force of Credulity, for presentation at the handsome new Southwark Theatre. English plays and comic or sentimental operas had formed the staple repertoire of the company for some years, but Barton’s farce had signal im¬portance because it was the first ballad opera written by an American for American audiences. Moreover, its subject matter was closely linked to the concerns of the Philadelphia citizenry. It cleverly satirized the government of King George, but it also offered lampoons of several individuals living in Philadelphia at that time. Alas, perhaps the comic barbs were too sharp and too close to home; the opera was not performed as planned, and a terse explanatory note in the Pennsylvania Gazette of April 22 announced that the play’s “personal reflections” rendered it “unfit for the stage.” It still seems remarkable that Barton’s vivacious comedy could have remained un¬produced for more than two hundred years, especially since historians have long recognized the play’s intrinsic merit. The reasons for this dormancy must be sought in the peculiar nature of ballad operas in the 18th century. Such works often became modest best-sellers as published librettos, and indeed Barton’s opera sold impressively in this form, first when it was published in New York in 1767, then later when a revised Philadelphia version appeared in 1796. However, the librettos contain no music whatever; the songs that occur throughout the play exist as texts only, along with the titles of the popular songs whose tunes would have been used for the songs in the play. Presumably, the musical arrangements for The Disappointment were discarded upon its cancellation or have been lost during the many years since. While librettos could be printed in many copies, musical arrangements typi¬cally were made in one copy only, for one particular production. Consequently, scores or parts for ballad operas have vanished in all except a mere handful of cases. A reconstruction of the music for The Disappointment is desirable above all because the play is manifestly attractive, but also because it is a significant landmark in the history of the American musical theatre. Aside from its position as the earliest indigenous American opera it is believed to contain the earliest mention of the time honored tune, “Yankee Doodle.” 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Disappointment」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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